


Telum tenebris

by serenamarisa



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Angst, M/M, There will be a happy ending, eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-07-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23068813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenamarisa/pseuds/serenamarisa
Summary: Aaron is a vampire from the long Dingle clan of Vampires, except he is the chosen one and harnesses the most power a vampire can have. When he is forced into a blood binding wedding to restore peace between Vampires and humans, how will he and his former slayer, human boyfriend, Robert be impacted by an evil plot carried out by his future partner?
Relationships: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden
Comments: 20
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I keep getting different inspiration for different fics but I am working on my other ones as well as writing new ones, I just really wanted to write this.

_Robert packed his things up and swung his bag over his shoulder. He'd been blending in with the Dingles and had posed as a vampire for long enough. He knew Aaron didn't really want to marry and be blood bound Alex and that he was doing it so the supernatural could have peace with the humans but as soon as Alex's family find out that Aaron was fraternising with a human - never mind an ex slayer, they might take back their promise._

_Aaron was going to marry Alex and restore peace. That was it. Robert's feelings were out of the picture._

_"Robert, wait." Aaron called from behind him as he walked into the back room from the pub. He pulled Robert by the arm and forced him to look back at him. just as he was about to open the door. "we can- we can still be together. Even if I marry him, it doesn't mean I love him."_

_Robert scoffed and looked away. " I'm not watching you marry someone else, Aaron. I know you have a reason behind it and I love you for that, but, it's too much."_

_"I'm doing this for you, Robert, for all the humans who have been attacked or- or killed by vampires. After this wedding there will be no divide,no reason for you to keep hiding." Aaron pleaded with him, trying to take hold of his hands._

_"What happens when they find out? When they find out I was a human slayer all along, even if the vampires agree to be civil with humans they'll still resent me for faking it or- or even worse, they'll resent you. What power will you have then?" Robert argued, looking into Aaron's eyes sadly._

_"They won't hate you, I promise." Aaron said firmly, but Robert just shook his head and pulled his hands away._

_"You can't promise something like that, Aaron." he replied as he turned towards the door._

_"Please Robert, just stay - for us." Aaron begged as he watched Robert reach for the handle._

_Robert turned around and held Aaron's shoulders. Aaron placed his hand over Robert's. "You have one shot at this." Robert whispered, looking into Aaron's teary eyes, "Peace is more important than us. Don't mess it up."_

_He placed a kiss onto Aaron's cheek and swiftly turned around to open the door. The cold of the night crept in and made Aaron's hair stand on end. Robert stepped outside into the darkness and took one last look at Aaron stood woefully in the hallway before closing the door softly. Aaron let out a sharp breath and leaned against the door behind him, the muffled noise of the pub vibrating through the wood._

_Robert was walking up the main road when he heard a twig snap behind him. He spun around to face the noise._

_"Hello?" he called out but there was no answer. Robert stayed still for a few moments, searching the area behind with his eyes before turning back around to head up the road. As he turned around he was met with fangs and a snarl, then everything went black._

*** 

Aaron woke up to heat. Being a vampire, this was not a good sign. He opened his eyes to see the sun coming up as it started to burn his skin. He tried to run but realised he was chained to the garage door.

"Help!" he shouted as he frantically looked around the empty village, "Mum! Cain! Liv!" he tried to call Robert but then before he could get the words out, the realisation hit him. He'd probably be long gone by now. 

Smoke started to build at his feet and he continued shouting. Suddenly, rapid movement moved the air next to him and cain appeared covered in a black cape and sunglasses. "Okay, okay calm down." he demanded, a little laugh in his voice. 

"I swear to god, Cain. You took your time." Aaron replied through gritted teeth. Cain quickly untied him from the garage door and gave him his own sunglasses. Pulling him away from the door, Cain apparated with Aaron into the dark backroom of the pub. 

Aaron pulled away from him and rubbed the soot off his body. "What was that for?"

"Just a fun pre-wedding prank" Cain replied, taking his cape and sunglasses off, "Dad's idea, not mine. He's through there with your wedding guests."

Aaron groaned as he thought about the wedding and how much his Uncle - head of the Dingle clan - wanted it to happen. Not for peace, for status. He walked through the door into the pub and was greeted by whoops and cheers. He smiled weakly as his mum came over to see him, wrapping her arms around him. 

"My boy!" she exclaimed, "happy blood binding day!" 

He sarcastically thanked her, as he knew that she knew that this was the last thing he wanted. "Thanks for almost killing me."

"I always knew you would survive." she replied, almost too happily. 

At that moment, Alex walked through the door. Alex Mason. The son of the Mason clan leader. Their families had ties that went way back into history. When they found out that Alex and Aaron were eligible to get married, Zak and Count Mason had reached an agreement. They get married and the families relish in wealth and status. However Aaron wanted peace between vampires and humans so the count needed to use his power to get the vampires to agree to a peace treaty - after the blood binding. 

"Alex! The blood groom himself!" Zak exclaimed as he stood up from his chair and made his way over to Alex who was taking his cape off. "Well one of them anyway." he corrected himself, looking over at Aaron. Aaron just nodded his head and smiled at Alex. 

Alex was tall and had long dark brown hair. His chiselled cheekbones were toned and his jawline was sharper than a slayer's stake. He would be a perfect groom for Aaron but he just didn't want him. He sensed something off with him. Much to his family's disappointment. 

"Fine day for a blood binding don't you think Aaron" Alex said, not taking his eyes off of Aaron's. 

"Great." Aaron replied bluntly. He poured himself a glass of soy blood and sat on a chair by the bar. Alex proceeded to sit next to him. 

"You should start drinking the real deal. Need to prepare for the biting tonight." Alex spoke deeply, his smell of vanilla was invading Aaron's nostrils he had to lean back.

"Biting?" Aaron asked, putting his drink down. 

"Naturally. You bite me and give me the same powers as you." Alex replied, turning to face him, "It's what we prepared."

"I never said anything about biting." Aaron exclaimed as he turned to face his uncle," Uncle Zak?"

Zak stood up again from his glass of blood and stood next to Aaron and Alex at the bar. "It's a blood binding ritual." he explained, "especially as you're the chosen one, son." 

Aaron stood up from his chair abruptly. "No. There will be no biting, do you hear me?" he demanded. He turned around to the other guests in the pub. "The whole of the slayer's council will be there and we need to show that we come in peace. So that means _no biting._ " 

"Aaron, think of the Dingle reputation" Chas tried to reason with him. 

"I don't give a shit about the reputation or _vampiric tradition._ " he shouted back, "I'm this close to calling it off!" He stormed into the backroom of the pub and up the stairs making sure to slam the door behind him.

"He can't call it off!" Alex exclaimed, "my father will have all of your heads!"

"Hey now, son. Let's not get too dramatic. Even if there's no biting, the wedding is still going ahead." Zak told him.

"It better be." Alex responded harshly. He stood up and apparated into bat form and flew out of the pub.

***

Aaron heard a knock on his door. "Come in," he said aggressively.

Chas opened the door slowly and looked around it at him lying on his back in his bed. She pulled the stool from underneath his desk and sat it by the bed. 

"Look, I know you're nervous but you can't call it off," she explained, "There'd be a dust bath."

"I know." he agreed, covering his eyes with his arms.

"What's wrong son? You can tell me." she questioned but Aaron just turned his head to face the wall. "Is it that human?"

Most of Aaron's immediate family knew that Robert was a human. His mum, his half-fang sister Liv, Cain and even Zak, but they had promised not to tell anyone. They'd known since Robert tried to kill their bloodline after Chas had bitten his dad. He wormed his way into the family but soon fell for Aaron and Aaron fell for him. He got rid of his slayer equipment and tried to fit in with the family. Up until the night before. 

"Robert, Mum. You know that. You bit his dad." he reminded her. 

"Ah, yes, Robert. Sugden blood always leaves a memory." she admitted but was met with a cold stare from her son. She apologised.

"He left, last night." Aaron continued, "he couldn't stay to watch me get married, he warned me not to mess it up." 

"I;m sorry to hear that, son." Chas said solemnly. "Loving someone you can't have is... hard."

Aaron scoffed. "What would you know?"

"I'll let you know I have had my fair share of human love interests." she joked. Aaron pulled a disgusted face at her. "Look, you'll get over Richard- Robert... in a few centuries." 

She ran a hand through his hair as she stood up. "Ceremony starts at 10 sharp. Don't be late," she said as she quickly walked out the door. 

***

_The rings of telum tenebris. Latin for "dark weapon". Activated by a tear from the victim or his bloodline. Once the ring is worn, the victim will be forced to follow every command of the wearer._

Alex opened the ring box and looked inside at the ring placed perfectly. Ross, his sidekick came down the stairs and he snapped shut the case.

"Still in his trance." Ross informed him. He saw the box in Alex's hand. "What you got there?"

Alex sighed and re opened the box. "Ring of _telum tenebris_ " Alex said, "for Aaron."

Ross nodded his head. He didn't know what half of this meant. He was bitten by Alex a few years ago and since then has just followed every command, no questions. "Cool."

"Ross, how would you like to do me a favour?" he asked.

"Anything, boss" Ross replied. 

Alex pulled out a small bottle from the drawer and presented it Ross. "Get me a tear from a Dingle. Any one of them. Capture it in this and give it back to me." 

Ross stared at the bottle for a second before taking it and shoving it in his pocket. "Seems easy enough."

"We'll see." Alex said sinisterley. He sniffed and scrunched his face. "Are you sure you closed the coffin lid, it stinks of human in here."

Ross quickly gasped and ran back upstairs. Alex groaned at the incompetency and shut the drawer but paused as he heard a sound outside his door. He slowly crept over to the door and pulled it open to reveal Cain stood there in the night. He looked worried. 

"Cain Dingle. To what do I owe the... pleasure." Alex asked innocently. 

"I - um," Cain stuttered, "Actually I forgot, sorry. I'll see you later." he quickly turned around and walk off.

As he closed the door Alex thought to himself. _If he heard anything, he'll be dust._

_***_

Aaron decided to get out of bed and get into his wedding suit. Robert's words kept going round his head,

_Peace is more important than us._

Deep down in his heart, Aaron knew he was right. Peace between the vampires and humans was the most important part of this process, no matter how Aaron felt. Maybe once the peace between humans and vampires is restored, Aaron could be with Robert. If he still wanted him too.

A knock at the door snapped him out of his thoughts. "What?!" he shouted angrily.

Cain barged through the door and quickly closed it behind him. He looked up at his nephew who was in the middle of putting a tie on. "What are you doing?" he asked. 

Aaron looked at him confused, "Getting ready for my wedding. I could ask you the same question."

"You can't marry Alex. You can't be blood bound." Cain told him suddenly. 

Aaron quickly turned to face his uncle. "What? Cain, I thought you wanted this." 

"I did. I want peace but I don't think the Mason kid has the same intentions." Cain admitted. Aaron gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean? How do you know this? Did he say something?" he questioned. Cain bit his lip and looked away. 

"No. Not as such. I over heard him plotting something, I don't entirely know what." he started.

"So you have no actual evidence." Aaron scoffed and he turned away again, continuing with his tie.

"I know I heard something, Aaron." he pleaded but Aaron just shook his head. "Since when did you want this wedding anyway? I thought you hated the idea of it. I though you loved-" 

"He's gone, Cain." Aaron interrupted him. "he left last night." 

"What? Why?" Cain asked, speechless.

Aaron finished the tie and turned to face his uncle, clenching his fists. "This stupid wedding is why! This stupid wedding and the stupid vampires like _you_ who can't keep their fangs out of humans!" he exploded and a sob left his throat. He collapsed onto the bed and put his head in his hands. "Peace is more important than us, apparently."

Cain didn't know what to say. "Aaron, I'm sorry about Robert, I really am. But I'm not letting you put yourself in danger because of what my father or any stupid vampire says. You're the chosen one for god's sake! You can't just do what they say."

"Well I am. I am because people will die if I don't. The slayers will back off and we will live in harmony with the humans. I need to do this." Aaron argued.

"But this isn't the right way! There must be an alternative to _blood binding!"_ Cain exclaimed. 

Aaron sighed and looked up at him. "There isn't, Cain. I have to do this. I'm doing it and I'm doing it tonight. There's nothing you can do to stop it."

Cain didn't argue back. He apparated into his bat form and flew out of the window into the night, leaving Aaron sat on his bed. 

***

Ross was on his mission. He knew he wouldn't get a tear from the almighty Zak Dingle so he tried someone easier.

"Chastity." he said as he approached Chas sat reading a magazine in the back room of the pub.

"Barton." she replied, not looking up. 

"You got any man in your life?" he asked, resting his arm onto the back of her chair.

She stopped reading and looked up at him. "Who's asking?"

Ross just shook his head and laughed. "Isn't it obvious?"

Chas laughed and looked back down at her magazine. "Why would you think I would like _you?_ " 

"I'm a catch." he replied and started to stroke her hair. He put his hand to her head and pulled it quickly. Chas reacted with a scream and jumped up from the chair.

"What was that for?" she asked, rubbing the back of her head. 

"Accident" he lied. He noticed her eyes tearing up, "hey, you're crying." he brought his hand up to her face to wipe away the tears.

"Oh, must just be a reaction to the pain." she admitted, wiping at her eyes after him. 

He brought his hand down to his side and pulled out the bottle from his jacket with the other. He wiped the side of his hand against the top of the bottle, letting the tear drop into the bottom. He quickly put it back into his pocket. 

"Sorry." he apologised, trying to hide his smile. 

Aaron walked into the room before Chas could reply, wearing his waistcoat and tie. His eyes were red as if he'd been crying. 

"Ah, Ross. Just the man." he said as he started to walk towards where he was standing by the table. "Tell Alex that I'm fully committed to the blood binding ceremony. It's going to be as traditional as it can be, Alex will get the first bite of the chosen one but he must agree to my peace terms."

Chas squealed beside him and pulled Aaron into her arms. "I'm so happy for you, son. I'll go and tell Uncle Zak now!" she left the room in a hurry.

Ross just nodded his head, "Will do." and he flew out of the door through the post slot.

***

When Ross got back to Alex's house, he went upstairs to check on the coffin. He smiled as he saw it in the same condition he had left it.

"Don't mind if I do." he said to himself as he noticed a bottle of blood on the chest of drawers. He poured himself a glass and celebrated his success by downing it all. 

Suddenly the lid of the coffin burst open. Ross jumped back and fell against the dresser.

Robert pulled something out of his pocket and pointed it at him. "This is a UV torch and I'm not afraid to use it." he threatened.

"But you- you're meant to be in a trance." Ross stuttered. 

"I faked it." Robert revealed, "Alex is no match for a trained slayer." 

Ross sighed and put his hands by his head. "Please put it down. I'm just doing what I'm told."

"Why me? Why mess with a slayer when you could have taken anyone." he questioned, still pointing the torch at Ross. 

The air around Robert got colder and Alex appeared behind him. He quickly ran towards Ross and held him, the torch at his head.

"Because nothing is more exciting than draining the blood groom's old love." Alex said darkly.

"Get back." Robert warned "or he eats sunlight." 

Ross whimpered in Robert's arms and tried to struggle away from his grasp. Alex suddenly shifted and Robert found himself being pulled away from Ross and thrown back into the coffin. Alex's eyes turned yellow and Robert stopped struggling. His body went limp as he lay down in the coffin and the lid was shut loudly.

"I thought I told you not to come back here without my supervision." Alex said as he made sure the lid was on, "That trance isn't going to last long so we need to get out and lock up quick."

Ross nodded and took the bottle from his pocket. "I got this for you, boss. Dingle tears themselves," 

Alex chuckled and took the bottle from him. "Perfect. Once these are in the rings of _telum tenebris,_ Aaron won't stand a chance." 

***

He sat on his bed. His suit was on fully and he was meant to be at the church in twenty minutes. _I'm doing the right thing,_ he kept reminding himself. He looked over at the drawing framed on the side of his bed. Robert had drawn it. It was of the two of them sat underneath a window. The sun was blazing through the glass but they were sat just outside of the light. He had wanted to show Aaron that he didn't care about him being a vampire and that he was there with him along the way. Obviously not _all_ the way. 

Aaron sighed and lay the picture face down. He took a shot of soy blood and stood up, flattening out his tie. Adam - his friend in the slayer council - walked into the room, reeking of garlic. 

"wow. garlic" Aaron joked, cringing at the smell.

"Sorry, not taking any chances. It's the most amount of vampires I've ever been around." Adam admitted.

Aaron nodded, understanding. "Well, after today, you won't need it anymore." he patted Adam's back and got his jacket on.

"Thank you, for doing this." Adam told him, "It means a lot. To all of us." 

"I know. I just hope it's worth it in the end." Aaron sighed.

The church bells tolled their cue and Adam stepped out of the way, letting the groom through first. 

They met Chas at the doors of the church. "I'm so glad you came." she said smiling. 

"Of course." he replied, quietly.

"You threw away true love to marry for power. Us Dingles couldn't be more proud." she said, stroking his face.

"Not power, peace." He corrected her. 

"You're doing the right thing. Love is for humans and idiots." she continued, "the chosen one is loyal." 

"All right, Mum." he pulled away from her. He looked at Adam and nodded, "Let's do this."

***

Robert's head was spinning. Words, foreign words were being spoken in his memories. _telum tenebris? what does that even mean?_ he tried to sit up but hit his head on the top of the coffin. He kicked his legs but the lid wouldn't budge. He shouted and screamed as much as his lungs would let him. There was a whoosh of air outside the coffin and he stopped. His heart rate sped up and his breathing hitched. Alex scared him. He scared him a lot but he wouldn't let it show. He was a vampire slayer, after all. 

The lid of the coffin was moved and light infiltrated the inside. Robert covered his eyes as the lid was taken off but the person wasn't Alex.

"Cain?" he gasped.

"Robert." Cain sighed "You have no idea how happy I am to see you." Cain held out his arm for Robert to take but he swatted it away. Jumping out of the coffin he stood up and brushed himself down. 

"Why are you here?" Robert asked. 

"Why are you?" Cain repeated. 

"Wedding breakfast, as if you didn't know." 

Cain gave him a confused look. "I didn't. I promise." 

Robert ran to the door and rattled to handle. "Something's wrong. They're planning something against Aaron, we need to stop the wedding."

"The wedding is happening now, I just sneaked out to come here looking for evidence. What do you mean planning? Planning what?" Cain quickly asked, walking towards Robert by the locked door. 

Robert turned around and ran a hand through his hair. " I don't know what. They mentioned something about tears, about teelam tetris?"

" _telum tenebris."_ Cain realised, "the rings! The blood binding rings are the _telum tenebris_ rings."

"Are they bad?" Robert asked.

"Very." 

"Well go and stop them then!" Robert shouted. Cain quickly apparated into a bat and flew towards the church. leaving Robert banging on the locked door.

***

Aaron waited at the altar. His mum, his sister, Zak and his (almost?) human servant Paddy were sat on the front row. Adam and the rest of the slayer council were sat at the back, being eyed up by some other vampire guests. 

_Please work,_ Aaron thought to himself. He imagined Robert sat at the front with the rest of his family. He wished he was really there. But then again, if he was here, he wouldn't have to get married to Alex. 

Alex walked down the aisle. It was all too traditional for Aaron's liking. Ross was the holder of the blood binding rings. They would be put on after Aaron had bitten Alex so they harnessed the same power while being blood bound. 

Zak did the reading, he wasn't very good. He skipped all the necessary parts so they could " _get to the biting._ "

Alex stretched his neck and knelt down in front of Aaron. "I surrender myself to the first bite of the chosen one." he recited. Aaron could feel his fangs fighting their way out of his gums. He leaned over so his mouth was hovering over Alex's neck, the vein completely frozen. He opened his mouth to bite when the church doors swung open.

"Stop the ceremony!" shouted Cain as he barged through the doors. Gasps made their way around the church. Aaron looked at his mum in shock but she looked as confused. 

Cain apparated to stand beside them at the altar. "The blood binding rings. They're the _telum tenebris_ rings, Alex is using them to make Aaron his slave." he explained as he pointed to the rings in Ross' hand, "he doesn't want _peace."_

"Forbidden dark weapons?" Aaron asked as he looked at Alex who was turning paler. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." he said as he grabbed the rings from Ross, "these are perfectly normal blood binding rings."

"Well then, you won't mind if Paddy runs a few tests." Aaron answered, pointing towards Paddy who had a big grin on is face. "Hand over the rings, Alex."

"Leave him alone." Ross warned as he moved closer to Aaron, letting Alex run past him. Before Ross could get to Aaron, Zak had punched him in the jaw. 

"Nobody threatens a Dingle on my watch." he said, looking over Ross' limp body. The crowd erupted in applause as Zak smiled and rubbed his hands together. 

Aaron turned to Cain, "how did you know about the rings?" he asked him. He saw realisation hit his uncle's face.

"Robert.." he whispered as he started to leave but Aaron grabbed his arm. 

"Robert? What does he have to do with it?" he questioned.

"Alex and Ross, they kidnapped him." he told him, "he's locked in a room in Alex's house. 

Suddenly a vision clouded Aaron's view. He heard Alex's voice. 

_He's dead,_ the voice whispered. Then an eye came into view, Robert's eye. It was filled with tears and Alex had a bottle capturing them. A ring was placed onto his finger and Alex laughed an evil laugh. 

***

Aaron found Alex sat with a bottle of blood outside the pub. He marched over to him but Alex put his hand up,

"Get back if you value Robert's life." he demanded, gesturing to the top of the pub. Aaron looked up and saw Robert stood on the edge of the roof.

"I control his every move." Alex continued, "Don't I, Rob."

Robert just nodded slowly, looking straight ahead, fixated on nothing. 

"Walk." Alex demanded. Robert turned and started to walk to the edge of the roof. Aaron looked over at Alex who had just taken a swig of the blood. Robert didn't stop walking.

"Please, Alex, tell him to stop." Aaron pleaded as Robert kept walking to the edge, "please, I'll do anything."

Alex looked at him quizzically and swallowed. "Stop!" he shouted to Robert who stopped one step away from the drop. He turned to Aaron, "If you try anything stupid, I will get him to jump."

"What do you want?" Aaron questioned firmly, walking towards where Alex was sat.

"You know what I want." Alex replied "the first bite of the chosen one."

 _"Aaron"_ he heard whispered, he looked up to the roof but Robert was still firmly stood at the edge. " _Aaron."_ he heard again, louder. 

"He should not be able to do that." Alex said, looking up at him and back down at the ring on his own finger.

Aaron marched over to Alex and knelt down beside him. "I'll do whatever you want, just please, don't hurt him." 

Alex touched the side his neck and tilted his head sideways. Aaron stood up, he walked behind Alex and took his head in his hands, exposing his neck. He took one last look at Robert stood still on the roof but he could've sworn he saw his eyes move. He leaned over and placed his mouth onto Alex's neck.

"Don't you dare.." he heard Robert say. He looked up but Alex shouted and threw a flash of light up at the roof, hitting Robert. 

Robert fell limp and his body collapsed, sending him falling off the roof. Aaron pushed past Alex and ran towards the pub. 

"Robert!" he shouted as he ran to catch him. He fell heavily into Aaron's arms but his supernatural strength held him up. He sat on the ground with Robert's lifeless body in his arms. Aaron touched his limp face,

"Robert, wake up, Please, just wake up." he begged but Robert lay still in his arms.

_to be continued.._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robert's life hangs in the balance and there's only one thing that will save him...

"Get him on the table!" Cain shouted as he arranged his equipment, snapping his fingers to make the medical utensils appear.

They had rushed Robert into the vets where Cain and Paddy could properly treat him using vampire remedies. Aaron put Robert down on the operating table and watched nervously and Paddy hooked him up to all sorts of magical machines. His mum appeared out of thin air to watch the commotion.

"Power up the defibrillator" Cain called to Paddy, who just looked at him, confused, "The lightning maker!"

Paddy realised and then scrambled around in the shelves and drawers behind him to find it. 

Aaron ran to the table and leaned on the side, "We need to get him to a proper hospital."

"A human hospital can't help him, Aaron." Cain sighed, as he fiddled with the machines.

"Why not?!" Aaron yelled, too loudly. His panic was finally settling in.

Cain stopped fiddling with the machine and pulled the collar of Robert's shirt down, revealing his shoulder and shattered pieces of material lodged in his skin. "Look at this." he summoned Aaron to look at the injury.

"What is that?" Chas asked, peering over the top end of the table. 

"When Alex set off the fireball it shattered the gem in the ring of _telum tenebris._ " Cain explained, looking up at Aaron and Chas, "Those, are fragments of the gem." 

"Pieces from a forbidden dark weapon?" Chas asked quietly, "no human could ever survive an injury like that."

Aaron's heart sank as he moved away from the table. _Was this his fault? Was Robert going to die?_

Paddy returned to the table with the charged defibrillator in his hands, "Ready" he said, handing them to Cain. Machines were whirring and buttons were beeping. The arrow on the monitor was hovering between ' _alive'_ and _'dead'_. 

Placing the metal surfaces onto Robert's chest, Cain shouted "Clear!" before the electricity shot through the wires, causing Robert's whole body to jolt. Aaron had to look away, flinching every time he heard the electricity fry. The machines let out one constant beeping and Aaron whipped around, running to the side of the bed. He looked at the machine with the arrow. The arrow had completely stopped moving back and forth. It had rested next to _'_ _dead' ._

"I'm sorry, Aaron." he heard his uncle say but he just knelt down next to the table, grabbing Robert's hand with his own and looking at his limp face.

"No Robert, you can't die. You need to be alright." Aaron wished, then he leaned his forehead on the table next to Robert's side, breathing heavily. Suddenly the constant noise stopped and machines whirred back to life. His head shot up and looked at the arrow machine. It had quickly moved back and now pointed at the space between _'alive'_ and _'dead'_ again. "He's alive." Aaron whispered in disbelief, looking up to his uncle who was also in shock.

"Just...How?" Chas questioned from behind him.

"Because of Aaron." Cain answered solemnly, "he's at the brink of death but the chosen one's _love_ is holding him back."

Aaron held Robert's hand as he stood up, looking from him to his uncle, "So I can keep him alive?"

Cain let out a deep breath and straightened his back, "Yes, but only for a while."

"How long?" Aaron asked but Cain lost eye contact and stammered. Aaron asked again more firmly "How long?"

His Uncle leaned back on the table and looked into Aaron's eyes, "Your power declines at dawn." 

Aaron's breath hitched. Dawn? That's only a few hours away. 

"Come breakfast, your human will be toast." Chas said gravely behind him. Aaron slammed his hands on the table and wiped over his face in anger. He turned around to face his uncle. 

"No. No he's not going to die, I won't let him." Aaron promised, looking at Robert's still form lying on the table. 

"Then you know what you have to do, son." Chas came into his line of view and put her hands on his shoulders. "The human part of him.. it's already died. Vampire energy is what is keeping him alive."

"She's right, Aaron." Cain assured as he walked around the table towards him, "All _you_ need to do is... bite him, and complete the process."

Aaron shook his head and looked down at his feet. "He'd rather die."

"I'm sorry, Aaron. But there's no other choice." Cain admitted, looking at him with sad eyes.

Aaron pushed past his mum and knelt down next to the bed. "Robert, If you can hear me, give me a sign." he pleaded, but nothing happened. "Tell me what to do!" 

Still, nothing.

***

"They plotted to kill ya!" Zak argued angrily. He'd come to see Aaron in the vets while he was at Robert's bedside. 

"It happens all the time, Uncle Zak. What does it matter now?" Aaron replied grumpily, resting his chin on his arms on the side of the table. 

"It matters to me, son. Think about the Dingle reputation." Zak persuaded, moving towards the table. 

Aaron sighed and leaned back on his chair, bringing his arm up to his forehead. "I've got more important things to be worrying about. Go hunt down the Masons if you want but I am not leaving Robert like this." 

Zak looked down at Robert and then back at Aaron, pity in his eyes. " _This,_ this is what they do. They're ruining our lives every chance they can get." 

"You were the one who wanted the wedding in the first place." Aaron argued through gritted teeth. 

Zak scoffed, "For _you,_ son. You wanted peace."

"I wanted peace, not marriage. I didn't need blood binding to a man I don't even love-" he raised his voice but then the stopped as he remembered Robert's life in the balance in front of him - and what he needed to do. "Just go, Zak. I don't need this."

He tried to argue back but Cain raised his hand. With a last look at a sullen Aaron, he apparated out the door, leaving just Aaron, Cain, Liv and a lifeless Robert.

***

After what felt like forever staring at Robert's still face, Aaron's thoughts were broken by Cain putting his hand on his shoulder. "Look, mate. The ferrel vampires, they're going crazy."

Aaron groaned and lifted Robert's hand up to his lips, resting them on the skin. "If you're not looking for a cure then I don't care." 

"They're attacking humans, they're harassing _innocent people_." Cain persuaded, "I thought you wanted peace?"

"Just concentrate on saving Robert." Aaron grumbled aggressively, still holding onto Robert's hand.

Cain sighed loudly and let an annoyed shout. He walked over to the other side of the table, keeping his eyes on Robert. "There's only one way, Aaron and you know it. The more you wait, the worse he gets and the less likely he is to survive."

"I'm not biting him, Cain, how many times?" he sighed as he looked up towards his uncle. 

"Fine. I will." Cain demanded as he snarled bringing his fangs out and leaning over Robert. Aaron quickly stood up and pushed Cain back, away from him. Liv squealed to stop but Aaron shouted over her. 

"Go! Find a cure!" he shouted, his own fangs out. "Look in your books and don't come back until you've found one."

Cain turned to leave and Aaron sat back down, holding Robert's hand once again. Cain stopped before he got to the door, turned around and spoke quietly.

"The ferrels trusted you. They believed in your vision of peace, you need to show them that you're still in control." he told him as he turned his head to look but Aaron was looking away, "You need to go out there and bring them back, or there'll be many more deaths."

"I said, I'm not leaving Robert."

Cain turned to leave again but was struck with a realisation. He turned around slowly to look at Aaron sat with Robert's hand to his face. "Do you think Robert would be proud of you now?" he manipulated. He saw Aaron's jaw clench as he whispered out a quiet, "Don't." but Cain continued:

"He loved you. He sacrificed _everything_ in the name of peace."

Aaron slowly put Robert's hand down on the table and revealed his fangs. "Get. Out." he ordered.

"Not. without. you." Cain relented, revealing his own fangs. 

They snarled at each other before both apparating into thin air.

***

At a bridge in Hotten, Cain and Aaron appeared in time to witness a vampire cornering a young human couple. Aaron shouted towards him, making him look over quickly but Aaron raised his hand up and the vampire turned to dust. 

"Show yourselves!" he shouted into the surroundings. Half a dozen vampire appeared, dotted around the area. He exchanged a look with his uncle as he rounded them up.

He lined them up next to each other and paced before them. "What part of 'no biting' do you not understand?" he started, "Okay, I get it. You don't believe in the peace agreement anymore. Fair enough. Hands up. Who fancies draining a _nice, juicy human_?"

A girl vampire shot up her hand without thinking but Aaron already had his hand up and dusted her before she could take back her claim. 

"Anyone else?" he asked, feeling their fear. All heads shook and eyes darted everywhere. "Good. If any of you so much _looks_ at a human, I will dust you. That's a promise." 

He ushered for them to leave and they all apparated quickly into the darkness. Cain walked over to him and tried to console him but he waved him off, looking onto the rising horizon. 

"We should get back. It's almost dawn."

***

When they arrived back at the village, the sun was rising quickly. They walked past the cellar where Alex was being held - the Dingles hadn't decided what to do with him yet. Alex walked over to the barred doors and held onto them, rattling his chains. 

"Nearly dawn, Aaron." he sing-songed. Aaron stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. "Oh yes, I could hear everything." Alex assured them with a smirk. "What are you going to do?"

Everything in Aaron was telling him to leave, to not rise to it but he felt so angry looking at Alex, seeing what he had done constantly replaying in his mind. He took a deep breath in and answered the question, "Whatever it takes. Whatever needs to be done."

Alex chuckled, "You'll bite him."

Aaron clenched his fists and looked away, "That's what I said, isn't it."

"He'll hate you." Alex continued but Aaron just walked away towards the vets, Cain following close behind him. "Bon appetit" Alex called after him, smugly.

***

Chas was on her way to the vets surgery. She'd heard about Aaron's decision and wanted to be there when he did it. On the steps down to the room that Robert was in, she encountered Liv.

"What are you doing out here, Liv?" she asked her as she sat on the step next to her. She held a piece of paper in her hands and was ripping it then letting the shredded bits fall on the step below.

"Why doesn't Robert want to be a vampire?" Liv asked, looking up at Chas.

Chas sighed and put her hand onto Liv's back. Liv wasn't young, she knew exactly what was happening but was still new to the vampire scene.

"Because when I bit his father, he changed." Chas admitted, still rubbing circles into Liv's back. "He didn't care about his children anymore, he left them to fend for themselves. So, when Robert turns into a vampire, he won't love Aaron. In fact, he'll hate him."

Liv shook her head, confused. "So why is Aaron going to bite him?"

Chas sat on a step lower and looked into Liv's big eyes. "Because love is stupid. And it makes you do stupid things."

"Have you ever been in love?" Liv whispered. Chas was stunned by the question but still, she nodded her head. "What stupid things did you do?" Liv asked again.

Chas sighed and looked towards the door at the bottom of the stairs, "Nothing as stupid as what I'm about to do now."

***

Aaron got his fangs ready. He was stood over the bench and Robert's neck had been tilted to allow access, Aaron still holding his hand. He took a deep breath in before opening his jaw and leaning over, placing his mouth above Robert's neck. 

Chas suddenly ran into the room, "Stop!" she shouted. Aaron looked up from Robert's neck."You're making a mistake." she told him.

Aaron just sighed and looked over at Paddy, "Get her out of here." he demanded.

"I'm not letting you do something you'll regret." she insisted, pulling him away from Robert's body. "You know how Robert feels about becoming a vampire. Eternity's a long time to be hated."

They were all sat in the room. Aaron, Cain, Chas, Paddy and Robert. Light was starting to make it's way through the curtains and that arrow was moving dangerously close to ' _dead_ _'_. Aaron looked down at Robert and held his face in his hands. 

"If only I could talk to you, ask you what to do." Aaron whispered, tears threatening to fall down his face. 

Suddenly, Paddy stood up. He walked over to the machines and played with some buttons. He turned to Aaron, "Actually, you could harness your powers to the machine." He smirked as he looked for something behind the cables.

Cain stood up and went over to Aaron at the table, "Aaron, If you link your chosen one powers to that contraption, it will probably kill you both!" he persuaded but Aaron just shook his head.

"I just want to talk to him, one last time." he sobbed out.

"This is insanity." Cain ran his hands through his hair before putting them back on the table with a bang, "Even if you are able to wake him, the effort will probably drain the remaining life force. He'll- he'll die almost instantly!"

"It's almost dawn, Cain." Chas interrupted, "Why not give it a go?"

Cain slammed his hand on the table and walked away, over to join his sister on the other side of the room. 

"What do I need to do?" Aaron asked Paddy who was waiting patiently. He handed him a wire connected to a big machine whirring away.

"Take this, focus on Robert and will him back to you with all your strength." he instructed.

As Aaron took the wire, a bright light engulfed the room and he imagined Robert. He imagined all the times he watched him draw, or read a book. He remembered their first kiss, unsure but so confident. He remembered the smile on his face that time when they apparated together and Robert didn't throw up. He willed him back to him with all the strength he had left in his body.

Finally, the light faded and the piercing noise in his ear got quieter. He looked down at Robert who's eyes were flickering open. Aaron sighed a breath of relief and smiled as he held Robert's cheek in his hand. 

"I love you." Aaron breathed out, moving his other hand to run through the top of Robert's blonde hair.

Robert smiled and breathed out slowly. He brought his hand up to touch the side of Aaron's face. "And I love you." he replied, not taking his eyes off of Aaron's.

"You're dying." Aaron told him, "I need to turn you into a vampire to save you. What do I do?"

But Robert was already shaking his head gently. He smiled weakly and ran his thumb across Aaron's face, "Don't do it." he whispered out. Aaron felt his dead heart shatter as Robert's hand dropped from his face and his head fell to the side, the machines singing out their constant, flat tune again.

Paddy turned off the machine and the room was silent.

"I guess that's that then." Chas broke the ice, "It was for the best, son."

Aaron shook his head at her words, "No. No I'm not letting him go."

"He'll hate you." Cain reminded him but Aaron just ignored it. 

"But he'll live." Aaron took Robert's face in his hands once again and kissed his forehead, "I love you, Robert. That's why I need to do this."

Aaron took in a deep breath and straightened his back. He tensed his jaw and unconcealed his fangs. He snarled as he leaned over the bed and dug his fangs directly into Robert's neck. He could feel the venom pumping through his fangs as he held Robert in place. As he pulled away from his neck he gasped for air. He looked down at Robert lying still, now with four fang shaped holes on the left side of his neck. He wiped his mouth and eyes and looked away as he stumbled for the chair at the end of the table.

***

Robert woke with a start, reaching for his neck as he quickly sat up. Aaron was sat on the chair at the end of the table, his head in his hands. Cain ran over to as he tried to get up from the table but struggled for balance. 

"Aaron." he called hoarsely but Cain put an arm in front of him, helping him regain balance. Aaron stayed sat down, looking away from Robert, breathing heavily.

"He's here." Cain assured him.

Robert looked down at his hands and inspected them as if he was confused, "Am I?" he started but Cain answered for him.

"You'll be fine." he said as he let go of him but Robert made no attempt to move closer to Aaron. 

He looked from his hands, to Aaron then around the dark room. "Aaron?" he questioned quietly. Aaron stutter and looked over at Robert, leaning against the operating table. "Aaron open the curtains."

"Not now you need to rest." Cain tried to intervene but was ignored.

"Aaron. Get me a mirror." Robert insisted but Aaron just squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

"I can't." he whispered.

Robert swallowed thickly, "Why not?"

"You know why!" Aaron tried to shout but his voice wavered, so it came out almost like a sob. He watched as Robert slowly brought his hand up to his neck and the tips of his fingers searched around for evidence. His eyes were fixed on Aaron but no emotion showed when his fingertips reached the four marks on the left of his neck. 

"You-" Robert whispered out but Aaron stood up to defend himself before he could get the rest of his question out. 

"You were dying! I _had_ to!" Aaron raised his voice as he walked closer to Robert, still leaning against the table. He tried to reach his arms out but Robert didn't flinch. He stared coldly at Aaron.

"I will _never_ forgive you for this." Robert told him, through gritted teeth. _"Never."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Robert is alive! (sort of)
> 
> Sorry to leave it on a sad cliffhanger. I promise it will get better and there will be a happy ending for them! You will just have to wait and see :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron tries to make Robert understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a shorter chapter and sort of a filler chapter too. I think there will only be a few more chapters after this so keep updated :)

Aaron was sat at the bar, his soy blood glass was full as he stared at the red liquid. He kept getting sorrowful glances from his mum as she served the other blood customers. He was tired of it. He'd chosen to do what he did because he knew he wouldn't forgive himself if Robert died - even if it meant him hating him forever. If only Robert would understand.

Zak stumbled into the pub - obviously drunk. "I've just had a chat with our prisoner." he slurred out as he sat down at a stool on the opposite side of the bar to Aaron. "I might have to defang him. He's too stubborn for his own good, we need to find a way to track down his father. I assume the rings were his doing."

He looked over at Aaron who was still staring down into his drink. "Right, son?"

Aaron nodded, moving his head to see his uncle but his concentration slipped as he saw a figure in the doorway to the backroom. He let out a breath as the figure stepped forward into the candlelight of the pub. His skin was fairer than before, his eyes were darker and he wore a black top covered by a dark leather jacket. 

Robert was staring at Aaron but once they made eye contact, he quickly diverted his eyes and looked at his feet. Aaron started to stand up but Robert quickly made his way through the door and over to where Chas was. 

"Can I have a bottle, Chas?" he said quietly. Chas nodded and pointed over to the cupboard full of blood bottles - from various monarchs and dukes. Robert opened the cupboard and pulled out a bottle. As he closed the cupboard, he turned to look at Aaron again. Aaron tried to smile at him but he just slammed the cupboard door closed and pushed past him, making his way outside into the dusk. Aaron sank back down into his seat, resting his head in his hands.

Zak was shocked. "Did he just-" he started but Aaron stopped him. 

"Yes, Uncle Zak." he said as he lifted his head from his hands.

"But I thought-"

"Well you thought wrong. He's a vampire now, whether he likes it or not." Aaron replied as he drunk a mouthful of the soy blood in front of him.

"Son, you have enough enemies." Zak tried to reason with him, "Talk to him. Because god knows we need him on _your_ side, now he's harnessing the same power as you."

Aaron bit the inside of his cheek, contemplating. "He wants nothing to do with me, Zak. He hates me." he said, waving his hand towards the door Robert just left out of.

"It's vampire law, Aaron. If a human is bitten by a vamp, he must be loyal to the one who bit him." Zak reminded him, " but he doesn't know that now. You need to tell him before he gets in with that Mason boy because I assure you, he will do anything to turn Robert against you."

"He already has." Aaron whispered but Zak raised his voice.

"Go." he demanded, "before it's too late."

Aaron nodded and gave a small smile to his mum before stepping out of the pub, making sure the sun was still low enough for him to be outside without burning. He closed his eyes and focused on the sounds around the village. He could hear the rattling of Alex's handcuffs coming from the cellar, the clink of glass at the pub and the sound of an engine in the garage. Finally, he heard the distant sound of coughing coming from behind the cafe, followed by a disgusted grunt. 

He apparated and landed around the side of the building and peeked around the corner. Robert was sat with his back to the wall and his forearms resting on top of his knees, the bottle of blood in one hand. He watched as he brought the bottle towards his lips and took a mouthful, wincing as it stung his throat. He leaned his head back, hitting it on the brick wall and sighed out deeply.

Aaron took a deep breath and walked around the corner, into Robert's sight. Robert looked up and groaned before looking away and back towards the ground in front of him. Aaron kept his distance. 

"You're not seriously drinking that?" Aaron asked, pointing towards the almost empty bottle of blood, "That's _human blood,_ Robert."

"My tastebuds have changed." Robert said blankly, refusing to make eye contact.

"But that's what I stand for- what _we've_ been trying to stop." Aaron pleaded, slowly making his way towards Robert on the ground but he quickly stood up, putting his hand out to stop Aaron from coming any closer. 

"Don't." Robert warned, as he put the cork back onto the bottle and wiped his mouth.

Now he was closer, Aaron could see the marks on his neck from his fangs. The swelling had gone down but the red marks were still obvious. Robert's voice knocked him out of his daze. 

"I'm going to see Alex." Robert told him, looking in the direction of where he was being held. "He said he needed to talk to me."

Aaron felt his heart sink at the words. He was speechless. Why would Robert even think about being near him? "Wha- What- Why?" Aaron managed to get out.

Robert scoffed and started walking away but Aaron quickly grabbed his arm to turn him around only to be pushed back violently. Robert's eyes were red and his fangs were snarling at him. Aaron stumbled back at the force of both the push and Robert's sudden anger.

Robert breathed heavily as he concealed his fangs and quickly turned to walk away.

"Why Alex, Robert?" Aaron shouted after him, "You can't trust him!"

"And I can trust you, can I?" Robert shouted back, turning back to face him. 

Aaron stuttered, he felt his heart shatter. Not a hint of remorse crossed Robert's face as stared angrily at Aaron. 

"He- he tried to kill you." Aaron finally spoke quietly. 

"Yeah?" Robert retorted, "Well I wish you had let him." 

Robert turned back around and walked off quickly, the bottle of blood still in his hand. Aaron let out an angry shout and punched the brick wall, screaming out in pain at the impact on his knuckles. 

***

Aaron was a bat. He was sat on the roof of the pub where he could concentrate on spying on Alex and Robert in the cellar. He was using his chosen on powers to listen and see them with his eyes shut. It worked better in bat form. 

_"I can help you, Robert." he heard Alex say._

_"How?" Robert challenged. Aaron saw he was sat away from the door on a wooden chair, Alex sat on the floor still handcuffed to a radiator._

_Alex sniggered and rattled the handcuffs. "Let me go and I'll show you."_

_Robert scoffed and ran a hand through his hair, "After what you did? No chance." Aaron felt a pang of relief, knowing Robert didn't actually have full trust in Alex._

_"This thing, Robert. It's not going to go away if you stay here." Alex told him, edging towards where Robert was sat._

_"What do you mean? What thing?" Robert asked, quizzically, narrowing his eyes at Alex._

_"Feeling out of place. Not knowing where you belong." Alex taunted, "They're not your family, Robert. They never were. They don't care about you."_

_Robert looked down at his hands._

_"Aaron doesn't care about you." Alex added softly, "come with me, Robert. My clan, they'll welcome you with open wings and fresh blood. They'll never have to find out about your history with the slayers. You can be free. With us."_

_Still looking down at his hands, Robert thought about it. He was chewing the inside of his cheek - just like Aaron does._

_"OK." he said as he looked up. "We leave tonight."_

Aaron's eyes shot open. He quickly apparated off the roof and to the cellar behind where Robert was sitting. Robert turned around at his presence and stood up. His smile was smirking evilly.

"And what do you want." he jeered, folding his arms. 

"I want you to listen to me, Robert." Aaron started and pointed towards Alex "he's evil, he's manipulative, not to mention a criminal. You can't just run off with him because of something I did."

" _Something you did?"_ Robert exclaimed, "You ruined my life, Aaron! You ruined it the moment your poor excuse of a mum bit my dad."

Anger seethed through Aaron's veins and a lunged towards Robert. As he went to throw his fist, he felt a force on his chest, pushing him back to the wall behind him. Robert's arm was stretched out in front of him and his red eyes and fangs were back. Aaron wriggled under the force, trying to stop his body being crushed against the wall. He struggled to breathe. His breaths were getting desperate and he brought his hands up to his neck, trying to reduce the pressure.

"Robert- Rob- please," Aaron strained in between breaths, "Let me- let me go."

After a few seconds of struggling, Robert's eyes flashed back to their normal colour and Aaron fell to the floor, spluttering. Robert was also panting, the power draining his strength.

"If you- If you dare mention our plan to anyone... I won't let go next time." Robert threatened, towering over Aaron on the floor. 

With one look back at Alex, he apparated, leaving Alex giggling excitedly. 

"Trouble in paradise?" Alex joked as Aaron carefully stood up. 

"I made him. He _has_ to be loyal." Aaron exclaimed, brushing dust off of his legs. "It's part of our code, he has no choice,"

"In your dreams." Alex whispered, the smile still not leaving his face. "Trust me, Dingle. He's mine now."

***

The clock read 19:10. The late summer sun had just gone down and vampires were starting to make their way outside, no fear of the sun. 

Aaron sat by his window, watching over the main road through the village. He was waiting. Waiting to see if he really meant it. If he really was going away with Alex, forever. Aaron wiped the tear that fell from his eye that he hadn't even noticed was crying. 

He heard a knock at his door and his heart leapt. Hoping. Feet shuffled in as Liv popped her head around the corner. Aaron's heart went back to normal as he gave her a sad smile.

"What are you doing up here alone?" she asked, walking further into the room.

"Just watching." Aaron replied, looking back out of the window. 

"Can I join?" 

Aaron nodded and patted the side of the bed next to him. She sat cross legged and put her hands on her lap, mimicking her brother.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Aaron saw him. He was walking down he main road - towards the cellar. He was wearing a leather jacket and was holding a small satchel, looking around his suspiciously as he made his way over to the stairs to Alex. Aaron's heart sank and he silently berated himself for getting his hopes up, for believing that Robert would change his mind. As a sob made it's way up Aaron's throat, he choked it back so that Liv wouldn't hear.

Before he stepped down the stairs, Robert turned his head towards the pub. He glanced over at the window that Aaron was sat behind. Their gazes connected. Not for long, but enough for Aaron's cold heart to skip a beat and his cheeks flush red. He instinctively looked down at his hands on his lap but when he looked back out of the window, Robert was gone.

Liv looked over at Aaron. She'd seen everything. She put her hand over his and squeezed it, showing him a small smile. He smiled back but couldn't help the tears that fell. She leaned onto his shoulder, silently comforting him as he held back the sobs threatening to leave his throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so sad but... it gets worse before it gets good, right?  
> Thank you if you are still reading and please leave kudos and comments!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Robert leaving.

"What do you mean he's gone?!" Zak shouted across the bar at Aaron who was taking a bottle of soy blood from the cupboard. He'd just come back from the basement holding Alex - only to find it _without_ Alex. He had come storming into the Woolpack announcing the news but Aaron just nodded and explained. Alex had gone. 

"Well he's not there anymore is he?" Aaron replied in a sarcastic tone, "That's what I mean by 'he's gone'."

Chas shot him a look and he just shrugged, turning around to walk into the back room. Once he got in, he sighed as he saw Zak and his mum had followed him. Letting out a groan, he met their glances. "What else do you want me to say?"

"Well, for starters, I want to know how _you_ know that he's gone." Chas questioned a hand settling on her hip. 

"And not just that, _how_ he got out." Zak added, "those walls were built so that no vampire could apparate through them."

Aaron breathed out deeply and wiped a hand over his face in frustration before taking a swig from his bottle. He knew he had to tell them, it's not like they weren't going to find out anyway. 

"I know because..." he sighed, sitting at the table and looking down at his hands, "because I heard him discussing getting out." He was trying to be as vague as possible to begin with, hoping that they wouldn't ask too many questions. They just stared at him, bewildered. Zak pushed for more.

"Who with? And that still doesn't explain how." he persuaded, "That basement was vampire proof, a vampire's power could never apparate themselves through the walls."

Aaron took a breath in and looked up at them both, a hand rubbing his forehead nervously, "The chosen one's power might." 

Chas' mouth gaped open and then furrowed her brow. Her confusion quickly turned to realisation and she exchanged a glance with Zak who had also come to the same realisation. 

"Robert." they whispered at the same time. 

Aaron bit his lip and nodded, turning back to the bottle of soy blood in his hand. 

"And you knew?" Chas said gently as she walked over the table and sat in a chair next to him. Aaron nodded his reply again. 

"Well why didn't you stop him, son?" Zak bellowed, a little too loudly and Aaron winced. Chas glared at him and turned back to Aaron.

"It's not your fault." she insisted,

"You've changed your tune." Aaron scoffed, not making eye contact, "You practically celebrated when you found out Robert had left me and then begged for me to let him die."

"I know, we didn't always accept Robert but- but we knew you love him and he loved you." she calmly added, reaching for his hand.

 _Loved._ There it was. Past tense. The key part of that sentence. 

Chas continued, "Why did he go? With Alex."

Letting out a shaky breath, Aaron explained. "Alex had some kind of plan, to lure Robert to his side.He told him that we didn't want him and that _his_ family would accept him and that they would take him in as one of their own." he looked up at Zak, "I tried to stop him, I promise. But he- he threatened me. He held me against the wall - using his powers - and he said that if I tried to stop him, he wouldn't let go next time."

Tears had started to build in his eyes but he willed them back, not letting himself cry over this anymore. Chas put a comforting hand on his shoulder and he smiled sadly at her. 

"He's strong." Zak told them, still stood by the door. "He's got the chosen one's powers and with the Masons' influence, I'm guessing that they're not being put to good use."

"But he's Robert." Aaron insisted, "He wouldn't hurt a fly, not on purpose."

Zak shook his head slowly and Chas squeezed Aaron's shoulder tighter. Aaron got the message. He wiped at his eyes and sighed. 

"But he's not anymore is he?" Aaron said sadly, "He's not Robert anymore. I made sure of that when I bit him." 

Even with Chas' pleas and Zak reaching out to stop him, he made his way out of the door quickly, the tears that had threatened to fall were now racing down his cheeks. As he stepped into the cold night, he flipped himself into a bat and flew to the roof of one of the pub, trying to ignore the laughter coming from inside.

***

It had been a week and nobody had found the whereabouts of Alex or the Masons. There had been a big increase in the number of human deaths due to vampire bites but whenever anyone got to where the attack had happened, all they found was a drained human - no sign of a vampire. 

Aaron fought and fought to get the slayers council on his side, try to remind them that they still wanted peace - despite Alex's best efforts to stop it - but with every dead human, the further away the chance of peace was. 

He was at the garage, ripping apart contracts they didn't need anymore. It was the least harmful way to get his anger out. Him and Robert had this connection. It meant that they could communicate telepathically - part of the chosen one powers - so he'd been trying to get answer out of him for a while of where he was but he could tell that Robert was knowingly ignoring his pleas for contact. Aaron wasn't surprised about it but every time he felt him ignore him, he sunk further into emptiness and anger. Eventually, he gave up. 

Cain walked into the garage, wearing a black cape due to it being the middle of the day. Aaron ripped up another piece of paper and threw it towards the bin. It landed in it perfectly, similar to the rest.

"Got my athletic skills then?" Cain joked, putting down his cape and leaning against the door frame to the office.

"Where have you been?" Aaron questioned him, ignoring the comment. 

Cain narrowed his eyes and shrugged, "Nowhere." he lied. 

Aaron tilted his head and looked at his uncle in disbelief. "You've been gone for, what? a week?" he argued, "Doing nothing?"

"I was saving _your_ butt from the slayers." Cain answered quickly, getting annoyed with Aaron's sarcasm. 

Aaron stood up quickly and hovered slowly over to Cain who was still stood in the doorway, "What? Why?" he asked but Cain averted his eyes to the floor. He pushed Cain back so he stumbled a bit but quickly caught his balance. "Tell me, Cain." he demanded forcefully. 

Cain finally gave in and looked up at Aaron. "Okay, but you're not going to like it." he warned but Aaron just glared at him to carry on, "It's Robert. He bit a human." 

Aaron's face fell and he stepped back into the office. He shook his head in denial and leaned his hands on the desk.

"We've got witnesses." Cain continued.

"He wouldn't." Aaron managed to breathe out but was quickly interrupted by Cain.

"He did. And the slayers seem to be blaming you."

"Me?" Aaron was shocked, but the realisation was still there. "because if it wasn't for me, he'd either still be human, or dead."

Cain nodded slowly. "I've tried talking to them but the co-existence deal hangs by a thread at the moment. I could- I could try tracking him down? Talking to him?" he recommended but Aaron just shook his head and stood tall again.

"No. We both know the only reason he is doing this is to get back at me, I'll talk to him." he admitted, making his way to the door of the garage.

"But what if he doesn't listen?" Cain asked, turning to watch him walk out of the door.

"He has no choice." he answered before apparating quickly out of the garage. 

***

Aaron sat in his room, the clock ticking away on his windowsill. He was sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. He didn't know what to say to Robert. How could he do this? After everything they worked for? Everything in him wanted to believe it wasn't true but there was always something nagging in his brain and the feeling of Robert pushing him against the wall was still deep in his mind. 

Finally, he decided what he needed to do and he closed his eyes, trying to connect his mind with Robert's. 

"Come on, Robert." he recited to himself as he focused on his powers. A switch flipped and he felt the connection drop, the sign that Robert had ignored him but Aaron didn't give up. He felt the power surging through his veins as he tried again, a lot harder this time to get Robert's attention. The strength he used as he forced the connection turned his plea into a shout. "Robert!" he shouted aloud, before losing the strength he'd mustered and he started panting as he felt his mind connect. 

"Robert?" he whispered, the feeling was weird. He couldn't put his finger on it but it was almost as if Robert was right there in the room with him. 

_"What do you want? What ever it is, I don't have the time."_ Came the reply in his mind but he could hear it as if it was travelling through his ears. He breathed a sigh of relief, and butterflies rose in his chest upon hearing Robert's voice again. It had been too long. 

He cleared his throat and stood firm. "Then make time." the voice in his head replied back. He could almost hear the groan that Robert must have made as he sent a pitched frequency across the connection, "What are playing at? Biting a human?" he continued, getting to the point. 

" _You're hardly in the position to take moral high ground with me._ " Robert's voice growled back. " _and i_ _f I remember correctly, you bit one too._ "

Robert's stubbornness was not one to get in an argument with. Aaron's nails dug into his palm as the anger boiled inside him, "The co-existence deal will be complied with. No one, including you, _especially you,_ is exempt."

" _Or what?"_ Robert's tone was that of a sarcastic child, " _you'll dust me?_ "

Aaron closed his eyes shut and took in a deep breath, "This is your first and final warning."

" _So masterful. I'm quaking._ " Robert replied bluntly but the anger and upset that was bubbling up inside Aaron exploded and he unleashed a loud roar.

He felt his eyes turn red and his fangs unconcealed themselves as he jumped from his seated position on the bed. The connection quickly cut off and Aaron calmed, slumping to the floor panting once more. He rubbed a hand over his face and let out a sob, the same time as knocking the bin over on the other side of his room in frustration. 

***

There was a party at the woolpack. Nobody quite knew what for but then when did they ever have a reason? Aaron hadn't heard anything from Robert in almost two weeks but he kept up with the slayers to monitor their ideas about his and the Masons' whereabouts. They had stopped biting as many humans which could only be a good sign. He was sat with Cain in a booth in the back corner watching Zak and other Dingles have a competition in blood drinking. Liv was eagerly watching them from the bar and Chas was gossiping, having a go at Paddy every now and then for serving drinks wrong. 

Cain was complaining about some other vampire clan and Aaron was feigning interest when the doors to the pub burst open, catching everyone's attention. 

Count Mason stood in the doorway. A smirk plastered across his face, his pale complexion was stark against his black cloak. Zak stood up quickly, followed by his two sons but the Count just laughed and summoned behind him. Two figures appeared through the door, wearing black cloaks of their own. Aaron stood up to get a closer look of the two vampires behind him. Alex, of course, and... Robert. 

His eyes met Alex's and Alex immediately showed him an evil smile, almost as if he was mocking him. He tried to make eye contact with Robert but he was looking down, almost nervous. Aaron figured, considering he was standing against the Dingles. 

"What do you want?" Zak bellowed at the Count. 

Count Mason held his hands up and pretended to be scared, "We come in peace."

Aaron heard Cain scoff behind him, "Like that word is even in your vocabulary." he remarked before taking a sip of blood. Alex snarled at him but the Count held him back, giving him a stern look. 

"I'm offering the chance for you to make peace with us." Count Mason continued, walking further into the pub but leaving Alex and Robert stood by the door, being given evils by some of the customers. "We will agree with the peace treaty or whatever you care to call it, on one condition."

Aaron's eyes flicked over to where Robert was standing to find him looking back at him. He'd expected a smirk, a narrowing of the eyes but instead he was met with a wide eyed plea. Almost as soon as they'd made eye contact, Robert looked back down to his feet. He looked so small in the black cape, despite him being taller than Aaron. 

Confused, he kept his eye on Robert stood in the corner until his name was called. He changed his focus to the conversation happening at the bar which now apparently included him.

"Ah, Aaron." the Count called as he beckoned him over, "the chosen one."

Slowly, Aaron made his way over to the bar but stopped far enough away from the Count to not be considered _close._ He looked quickly at his mum who nodded so he cleared his throat to speak. "Yes, Count Mason."

"As I was saying to your Uncle here, I'm organising a feast. You must come to the feast, then whatever war happening between us and then humans will be stopped with immediate affect." The Count explained, a twinkle in his eye as he spoke. 

"You never mentioned what sort of feast." Zak asked him, moving closer to Aaron. 

"Does it really-" Aaron started but was interrupted by the Count's answer:

" _Hostias._ "

A gasp went around the room and people started whispering. Aaron had no idea what a _H_ _ostias_ feast was but he knew that it was necessary for co-existence and peace. "OK." he agreed, reaching his hand out to shake the Count's. He smiled and grabbed Aaron's hand in his own to shake it roughly. "We'll come to your feast. But that's the end. No more biting." Aaron added. 

A voice called his name behind him and he turned around to see Robert stepping towards him but his eyes flickered to the Count's behind him and he quickly looked down, stepping back to where Alex was tugging on his cape. He cleared his throat and showed a small smile, "We'll see you then."

Aaron was now more confused than ever. Was Robert okay? He looked.. different. But then again he didn't really know him anymore did he? 

"Robert. are you-" Aaron started to ask but the Count was quickly in his line of sight stopping him from seeing the other vampire. 

"He's fine." Count Mason snapped, but then smiled oddly, "Just excited to see you. Tomorrow night, Everyone's invited." He clicked his fingers and all three of them turned into bats and flew out of the pub window, leaving a gust of wind behind them. 

The pub's customers went back to their chat with more excitement now with the news of the feast. Aaron hoped this would finally be the end and that his hard work would finally we worth it. He ignored his family's attempts to get his attention as he made his excuses to go to the backroom and to the toilet. 

***

As he made his way down the stairs from the toilet, he heard voices in the main room. He listened closer and recognised the voices as his mum's and Liv's.

"He doesn't know what he's doing." his mum huffed out. Aaron moved the door so it was ajar- slow enough for them to not notice that he was there. 

"It's just a feast." Liv's voice answered, her maturity trying to stick out.

"It's not _just_ a feast thought is it?" Chas replied quickly. Aaron's own question was asked by Liv before he could show them that he was there. 

"What do you mean?"

Aaron heard the sound of the chair scraping along the floor as she answered "It's a _Hostias_ feast. It's an ancient tradition - there hasn't been one for hundreds of years." she took in a deep breath, "Something happens at the end of the evening. Something that Aaron's not going to like."

Aaron pushed the door open and walked into the room, prompting both his sister and his mum to stand up. 

"What is it?" he directed at his mum, "What am I not going to like?"

She sighed and explained, "Ancient tradition states.. It states that a vampire of the Count's choosing is roasted to death in his honour."

Aaron's stomach twisted. What had he just agreed to? 

Suddenly, there was a ringing in his head and he winced as he fell to his knees. He could hear cries of anguish echoing through his mind and then finally came a quiet voice that he'd recognise anywhere:

" _Aaron, please. You have to help me._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda hate how cheesy the end of this chapter is but oh well haha  
> Thank you for reading!   
> Please leave kudos and comments so I know if I should continue if anyone is enjoying :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The feast leads to a competition.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apologies for the wait! this took longer than expected.

The chains around his wrists rattled loudly as he pulled on the padlock holding the cage door closed. He was breathing erratically now, even being a vampire didn't stop his fear of small spaces. 

Suddenly a force threw him to the back of the cage making his back collide harshly with the metal bars and a booming voice called out. 

"Every time you do that, you're just going to get weaker." it teased.

"Alex, please stop, Why are you doing this?" Robert pleaded, breathing heavily as he tried to sit back up. He was being drained of his power slowly and he could physically feel the effect it was having on him. That's why he couldn't hold his connection with Aaron for long - his power was fading. "I thought- I thought we were friends. I've done everything I can to prove that to you."

"Friends? How can we be friends when you're just going to go back to _him._ " Alex exclaimed , suddenly coming into view from the shadows.

Robert scrambled to his feet and grabbed onto the metal bars, "What do you mean? Aaron? Why would I-"

"Oh don't lie to me." Alex interrupted, "Turns out that draining your powers also means I can use them. You think about him all the time, Robert. It's embarrassing."

He was speechless. This whole time Alex had been wired into his powers? "The vote." Robert realised, "It was rigged. You wanted me to be chosen.”

Alex chuckled and shook his head, "Wow. Took your time didn't you, Sugden?"

"You knew that this would get under his skin, you _used_ me so that Aaron would back down from the peace agreement." Robert was shouting now, "You've never wanted peace! You just want to get your back on the Dingles because they outsmarted you, don't you?"

Alex let out a yell and Robert went flying backwards again, groaning as he hit the metal bars painfully. 

"He won't let you get away with this." Robert murmured, trying to sit up again but Alex was walking away, "He'll find a way out of this, you know he will."

And he was alone again. 

***

"I'm not going to let him do this!" Aaron stormed upstairs, his mum following suit.

"Then you'll fail his test." Chas argued, quickly following him, "he hasn't picked Robert by accident, he knows it will upset you the most. If you do anything to stop him from burning Robert, he'll see that you are choosing love over peace. He'll never agree to the treaty."

Aaron sighed and slammed his bedroom door shut.

"You know where that will lead!" Chas shouted through the door, before marching back down the stairs.

He paced around his room. He had no idea what to do. He'd never heard of a _hostias_ feast, he didn't mean for it to get this bad - especially not for Robert. After _everything_ Robert had done to it, he still had an effect on him and he still would do anything to protect him. He picked up a pillow from his bed and threw it across the room, anger coursing though his veins. He needed to find a way out of this.

He pulled the book off of his bookshelf and flipped through the pages at lightning speed. The words were going into his head but none of them were what he needed. Absolutely nothing about _hostias_ feasts, they must be extremely rare for none of the books to have anything about them in it. He needed to go to the library. There must be something in the library. He dreaded going there though, knowing who was the main family bookkeeper. 

***

"Ah, the Chosen One," Ross smirked, "To what do I owe the _pleasure._ "

Aaron just rolled his eyes and sighed. He'd turned up to the library to find it closed. He banged on the door, hoping that Pete or James or Finn would answer but the world had decided against him and Ross was the one to open the door, despite him barely ever being there.

"I need to find a book." Aaron stated. 

Ross scoffed and shrugged, "Can't help you there mate."

"Ross, I'm being serious." he snapped, before looking at the sky, "I'm running out of time."

Finally he relented and moved out of the doorway so Aaron could walk in. He slammed the door behind him and lit candles to illuminate the dark, musty room.

Aaron was angrily rifling through big books at the back of the room making dust fly everywhere. Ross waved a hand in front of his face and coughed as he walked up behind him. 

"What are you even lookin' for?" Ross questioned before going into a small coughing fit.

"None of your business." Aaron murmured, continuing his search.

More books were being thrown about and dust was going everywhere before Aaron sat down and let out a breath, "What do you know about _hostias_ feasts?"

"Ah. You're trying to find your way around the little celebration tonight." Ross remarked, "Let me guess, loverboy is going in the flames."

Banging his fist against the floor, Aaron stood up, "Can you help me or not?"

***

The ceremony had begun. It was awfully similar to the wedding but with a darker undertone. The Masons lived in a posh mansion on the outskirts of Leeds and the driveway was around a kilometer long that barely anyone stepped foot in the house.

The dining room's curtains were closed despite the darkness having fallen and the huge chandelier was lit up in the middle of the room. There was a trapdoor in the corner and Aaron could only imagine what was down there. Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder. Adam.

"Man am I glad to see you here." Adam sighed, looking around sheepishly.

"I was about to say the exact opposite, Adam." Aaron whispered harshly, trying to move Adam away from any other guests. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm undercover." Adam explained, "Don't worry I'm wearing spray to mask my scent and my pulse. They won't know."

Aaron took a sigh of relief. Trust the slayers to send someone to spy. "Be careful." he warned before noticing his mum on the other side of the room. Avoiding eye contact with other vampires, he made his way across the room to where his family were stood. 

"My darling boy," his mum cooed, "are you ready?"

Aaron just shook his head. "No." he admitted, "but I'll do what has to be done."

Chas smiled and then the bell rang before the Count's voiced echoed around the room. 

The feast was the biggest in centuries. Vampires that Aaron had only heard of in myths and legends were appearing and - being the chosen one - he had to greet all of the individually. He especially wanted to speak to Vampire Liam Cavanagh who was one of the main vampire in the high council. Just after midnight, Aaron found himself alone, finally and he sneaked out of the main room.

The other rooms in the house were much darker and creepier than the main room. Random sculptures and portraits of the family were hung on walls and the mantelpieces and the chandeliers hung way too low for Aaron's liking. 

A quiet shout came to Aaron's notice, he focused his hearing and slowly walked towards where it came from. It got louder and louder until he reached the door that the shouts were behind. There was an old key still in the lock, Aaron slowly turned it and the door clicked open. The shouting stopped and there was a sound of chains rattling. 

As Aaron stepped into the room, he could see more candle behind a big sheet of plastic hanging from the ceiling. He could hear laboured breathing behind the sheet and as he walked further into the room and pushed past the plastic, he saw a large cage hanging in the middle of the dusty room. There were massive chains holding the door to the cage in place.

"Robert." he breathed out, quickly making his way over to the cage. Robert was sat, wrapped in a ball at the back of the cage, chains attached to his wrists and ankles. Aaron put his hands on the bars, "Robert, I'm so sorry I didn't- I didn't mean for this to happen."

"I know." Came the quiet reply. 

"I'm going to get you out of here," Aaron continued, "I've- well Ross and I - we found a way to stop you from going in the fire."

"Ross?" Robert questioned, finally moving his head so he could make eye contact with Aaron.

"Yeah I know, but he helped me find a book. A book of ancient tradition rules." he explained, "The strongest vampire in the room is the one who chooses who goes in the flames, not the host." 

Robert's eyes widened and he crawled over to Aaron. He reached his hands up to where Aaron's were and gently placed his own over them. A rush of butterflies flew through them both and Aaron felt a smile form across his face as he revelled in the touch he'd been missing. 

"And that's you, right?" Robert asked eagerly, his eyes darting around Aaron's face as if he was looking for approval.

Aaron nodded, "Yeah, it is. I've got the chosen one powers, nobody - except you- has the same amount of power as me.

Suddenly, Robert's face dropped and his hands resting on Aaron's fell as he looked down at his lap. Aaron desperately tried to get him to look at him but he was just shaking his head, repeating how sorry he was. 

"Sorry for what? Robert?" Aaron questioned, "If you're on about going with Alex it's okay, I'm still a bit annoyed naturally, but I'd do _anything_ for you."

But Robert continued shaking his head, "My powers." he finally answered quietly, "Alex has been draining them. He can use them himself."

A shocked gasp made Robert look up. Aaron was looking at him with wide, teary eyes. "Has he- how long?" 

Robert shrugged slowly, "Since we left, I guess."

Quickly Aaron turned around and marched towards the door, ignoring the shouts of his name behind him. 

***

As he walked back into the main room, everyone was sat at a large table, the Count at the very end with Alex and Zak sat either side. Once he appeared, Zak stood up.

"Here he is, the man of the hour." he said proudly, lifting his glass and prompting others to follow. They all cheered and he attempted to smile at them.

"Is my guest going to sit down?" The Count gestured towards an empty seat next to Chas, who was also smiling at him widely. Once he's made his way over to the seat, Aaron looked over at the Count and Alex. 

"Have you ever done one of these feasts before, Count Mason?" he questioned them, still standing behind his tucked in chair.

The Count just gave him a small smile, "Of course not, only special occasions like this one are eligible for my _hostias_ feasts."

"So you're not aware of the rules?" Aaron persisted, still not sitting down.

The Count laughed nervously and looked around the table, "What rules?"

Aaron gestured over to Liam Cavanagh, who was itching to stand up.

"The Vampire with the most power in the room is the one to choose the victim, not the host of the feast," Liam announced boldly but the stare he received from the count made him nervously stutter, "of course I-I only mentioned it as I assumed that the chosen one had picked the victim."

Everyone's focus was on the Count, who was turning paler than your regular vampire complexion. "I-I wasn't aware."

"I'm afraid so, Count." Aaron continued, hoping to get to the point, "It's against vampire law."

Murmers went around the table and everyone starting muttering to themselves. Just as Aaron was about to speak, Alex stood up.

"Who's to say he's not the strongest vampire in the room?" Alex broke the murmers and everyone was silent again.

"Aaron does have the chosen one powers, Alex." Cain piped up, "I think he's the strongest by far."

Aaron was nervous now, he'd wondered if Alex would use his exploitation of Robert's powers to his advantage. Hopefully he would forget, but even Aaron knew he was too smart for that. 

"Well I say that me and the Chosen One have a little competition." Alex smirked and he knew exactly what he was doing. "See which one is the most _powerful_."

Aaron smirked back and looked around. He needed them to believe he was still the most powerful. Even though he had no idea what Alex's powers were really like considering he had Robert's powers on top of his own. 

"Let's start with the biggest fireball huh?" Alex continued. 

Aaron leaned back and threw the biggest fireball he could towards the ceiling. Gasps diffused around the table and some Vampires even stood back from their seats. The fireball glowed in the air and let out a bang before disappearing completely with a gust of wind. "Can you beat that?"

Alex scoffed and threw his own fireball behind Aaron's head, causing him to duck. The light was a bright white colour and they all had to shield their eyes away from it. The bang emitted a flash of light and a gust of wind that knocked glasses off the table, forcing guests to get up off their seats. After a moment of stunned silence, an applause erupted from the Masons and the guests. Aaron exchanged a look between his mum and Cain who were just as shocked as each other. 

He needed to show he had more power. 

Count Mason stood up, "I think we've found our winner."

"No." Aaron persisted, "It's just a fireball. My sister could do that."

"Ok then." Alex lifted his hand and a long white object appeared in it. He looked over to where three vampire guests where stood by the door. With one throw, the white oject left his hand and made a beeline to towards the vampires. It hit all three of them, turning them to dust in an instant. 

The room went silent and Alex just grinned.

"Your turn." Alex growled out, "Unless..."

Aaron's hand curled into a fist and he looked away from the piles of dust on the floor, "I could dust _everyone_ in this room if I wanted to."

"Do it." Alex taunted. 

Looking around him, Aaron saw the terrified faces on the guests - on his family. Alex could dust any of them without a second thought. He needed to beat him, he needed Alex to lose his ego before he got extremely dangerous. 

Lifting his hands up, Aaron sent a lightning bolt in the air, one turned into two and two turned into three. Thunder followed the lightning as the whole room lit up and the tables shook once again.

“Impressive.” Alex replies bluntly, “but not as impressive as this.” He looked over at Cain who suddenly shouted out in pain. His whole presence was starting to fade and his body was turning transparent. 

”What have you done?” seethed Aaron, angrily turning towards Alex then back at Cain who was desperately trying to stop it from happening.

”Enough.” Alex replied before turning to one of his servants, “Fetch me the prisoner!”

The servant scuttled off to where Robert was being held and the room was left in silence.

The Count stood up and patted his son’s shoulder, a smile wide on his face.

”Now, now comes the fun part.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron carries out a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a hot minute since i updated this haha, thank you to everyone who has read it and left kudos and comments, it means a lot :)
> 
> this is actually the last chapter, its not very long but sorry it took so long. i hope you enjoy.

The room was silent, Aaron’s breath was getting staggered as his nerves increased. He did have a plan, he’d thought of a plan but seeing the extent of Alex’s powers had massively impacted his confidence.

He made his way over to Cain, still stuck in a transparent faze.

“Your plan better work, Aaron.” Cain whispers harshly, “I’m not staying stuck like some freaking ghost.”

Aaron rubbed a hand over his face and turned to watch Alex and the count laughing quietly to each other, the same evil smirk across both their features.

“It’s too early.” Aaron says quietly, “Sunrise isn’t for a while yet, we need to keep him busy until then, when we let mother nature take them down.”

“You’re off your head.”

“It’s worth a try.” Aaron sucked in a deep breath and turned to face Liv, she was leaning against a wall on the other side of the room, her eyes trained on Aaron, waiting for the signal.

He nodded his head and she nodded back once, turning to the door slowly and slipping out into the night.

Behind him, a door slammed shut with a room shaking bang and the unmistakable sound of chains rattled through the air.

The count laughed as a servant pushed a gagged Robert through the door, his eyes red and eyebrows furrowed.

“Here he is!” Alex bellowed, stepping around the corner of the table and strutting over to Robert, “the sacrifice of the evening.”

He lifted a finger up to Robert’s flushed cheek and teasingly removed the gag from around his mouth. Aaron’s jaw and fists clenched as he cupped Robert’s cheek gently, resisting the almighty urge to throw Alex across the room.

“Let’s take this off, then.” Alex said slowly, waving the gag around and throwing it to the feet of the servant, “I want to hear him scream.”

God, this plan had better work.

Robert was tied to a metal post as the opening to the fire pit uncovered the firey depths below. Vampires were sneering - allies of the masons - as the Dingles held back, frightened of Alex’s next move.

Time was moving slower than Aaron had ever experienced as he waited for Liv to return and the sun to come up. His eyes kept catching onto Robert’s pleading gaze, waves of guilt thwacking him over the head every time.

Chas comes up behind him, making him jump with a hand on his shoulder, breaking his eye contact with Robert.

“This plan of yours.” She whispered, “How exactly is it going to work.”

He looked at the Mason’s crest on the floor, just poking out from underneath the table, then up at the curtained window facing it. It was right next to the fire pit – where Alex was going to stand before the sacrifice.

“At dawn,” he tells her, “a shaft of light will hit the crest underneath the table. Liv’s out there now, sorting some contraption out with Paddy which will direct the sunlight… right onto Alex.”

“How are you going to pull that off?” Chas questioned, standing back, watching his eyeline.

“Many fangs make light work.” He answered, before raising his eyebrows at his uncle.

***

They’d managed to stall the sacrifice, much to the count’s disgust. Aaron watched as Liv slipped back into the room, sending a wink in Aaron’s direction. She’d done it. Now they just needed to wait for the sun.

Zak stood up, clinking his glass to get everyone’s attention. “Count Mason.” He called, “I’d like to congratulate you on a wonderful feast, enjoyed very much so by me and my family.”

The count nodded his head as scattered applauds filled the room.

“Yes, well we haven’t got to the best part of the feast yet, have we.” The count said loudly, “Much too consumed by the entertainment done by your little offspring.”

He shot a look at Samson and Noah who had been stalling them with their newfound powers.

“Very proud.” Zak forced a laugh.

“Now can we please get on with the sacrifice?” Alex said quickly, throwing his glass of blood smashing on the floor, making everyone turn to him. He clicked his fingers at the servants who were guarding Robert and they untied him from the bar, his body falling weakly and pained snarls leaving his mouth.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. He exchanged worried glances with his family, immediately knowing that they’d caught on to the problem. He thought Alex would be the one to throw Robert in the fire. This meant Alex wasn’t going anywhere near the crest. He needed to think fast.

“I’ll do it.” He blurted out. All eyes were on him, jaws dropped open. He watched as Robert slowly lifted his head up, his arms still being held by the servants. “I’ll do the sacrifice.”

He could see Alex’s smirk, relieved that he was as dumb as he looked.

Aaron shakily made his way around the table, carefully walking past the pit of fire. The servants passed Robert’s limp being over to him and he wrapped an arm around his front, holding him up.

“What are you doing?” Robert whispered, his muscles tensing in fear.

“Just go with it.” Aaron whispered back harshly, watching Alex through the corner of his eye.

Alex was stood so confidently, and Aaron hated him for it. How could he ruin Aaron’s life over and over and still be so stuck up, so self-assured? Luckily, not for long.

With one swift movement, he pulled Robert away from the fire pit, looking down as he stepped over the crest.

Alex’s face dropped and he reached his arms forward and stepped towards them, but Aaron moved further back, pulling Robert with him and over the crest.

“What do you think you are doing?” Alex shouted, his eyes flaring red.

“What I should’ve done a long time ago.” Aaron growled back.

He turned his head to face Liv who was stood by the curtain. She pulled it open and sure enough, a beam of light came shining through the massive window.

Alex shouted as he saw the light, but quickly stepped back, off the crest and out of the sunlight.

Aaron watched in horror as he stood there, still alive, fangs shining in the light.

“You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?” he mocked, starting to laugh as he saw the look on Aaron’s face.

“No.” came a voice from behind Alex. It was Adam. He held a UV light to the Count’s head, his arm wrapped around his neck, holding him to his chest, “But this will be.”

Alex made a lunge for his father, but Adam shouted over to someone on the other side of the room.

Another set of curtains were pulled open and light infiltrated the musky room, focusing its beams onto the shattered glass from Alex’s blood cup he smashed earlier. The beams reflected off the glass and straight into Alex’s face, making him let out a bloodcurdling yell before he vanished into dust, piling on the floor.

Silence filled the room and eyes darted everywhere. Aaron let out a sigh of relief as he smiled at his friend, still clutching the count to his chest.

“Now, now, now.” Cain’s voice broke the silence. He had transformed out of the transparency – an effect of Alex’s dusting – and was now walking over to the count, “Whatever shall we do with you.”

Aaron’s attention turned to Robert as he slowly sunk to his knees and lay him across the top, his hand supporting his head.

“Hey.” He whispered, seeing Robert’s tired eyes flutter open. He smiled back weakly, “How are you feeling?”

Robert managed a small laugh and Aaron scolded himself for asking the obvious, “Like that’s the worst idea you’ve ever had.” He joked; his voice scratchy.

***

The pub was full. Vampires and humans both mingling, a sight that Aaron never thought he would see. Yeah, they still had a bit to go to completely restore peace but right now, it was a sight to be seen.

The Dingles had invited the slayers guild to the treaty agreement where the treaty was read aloud and vampires blood – vowed their loyalty to it.

Since Cain had de-fanged Count Mason, the masons and their allies were threatened with their vampiric reputation if they weren’t to attend the agreement ceremony, making most of them have an appearance.

Word had gotten around and human deaths by vampires were down to the smallest number in hundreds of years, marking this a milestone in vampire history.

The after party was in the pub, slayers invited and all, and no blood had been spilt.

Aaron was sat in a booth, listening to Cain drone on and on about how great it was de-fanging the count, as if he hadn’t told the same story five thousand times before. Not that it got any less satisfying.

His eyes caught a flash of sandy hair walk through the back door to the car park, so he left Cain to show off his achievements to an over enthusiastic vampire and followed it outside.

Before he could push open the door, a high-pitched ringing filled his ears and then stopped, connecting the passageway.

“ _Following me now, are we Dingle?”_ Robert’s voice echoed in his head.

A smile pulled at Aaron’s lips and he let out a quiet laugh , “Just getting a breath of fresh air.” The voice in his head lied back.

“ _Sure.”_

The door swung open in front of him and the cold night’s air tickled his skin.

The silhouette of a person was sat on the brick wall outside, the moon shine reflecting off his leather jacket. Robert turned to face him, a smile on his face.

“Going to join me then?” he invited with a nod of his head.

***

They fell into a smooth conversation, passing jokes and making digs at members of Aaron’s family. When the silence hit and the owls hooting were the only sounds to fill it, Robert breathed in sharply.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered solemnly.

Aaron turned his head to face him but he’s hung his head and was fiddling with his hands on his lap.

“What for?” Aaron asked gently, his heart thumping at the apology.

Robert scoffed and looked ahead of him, “What _not_ for?”

Aaron watched Robert’s face as he chewed his lip. “Rob, you know it’s not your fault.”

“No it is.” He replied quickly, turning to face Aaron, “I’m the one who believed Alex when he said you were dead, I let him use the rings and then I lashed out at you for- for _saving my life_ , and then I left. I left and I almost ruined what we’d worked for, I ruined everything.”

He looked away again, back to fiddling with his fingers, “I don’t know why you even tried to save me.” He mumbled.

“No-” Aaron started but Robert spoke again.

“After everything I did, after what I said.” He spoke quickly but Aaron grabbed his hands with his own and tugged them towards him, making Robert turn his body to face him.

“Robert, I saved you because I love you.” He spoke firmly, “And no matter what you said, or how much you threatened me, it’s in the past. It’s done. We need to focus on now, on peace, on what we feel _now_. And what I feel right now, is that I love you. And I always have.”

Robert gasped slightly responded with his hands grabbing Aaron’s face and their mouths pressed together. He breathed in his scent, the feel of Robert’s lips on his, and something warmed in his chest.

When they pulled apart, Robert’s hands still on Aaron’s face and Aaron’s on his forearms, they were both grinning, their eyes shining a look that was only meant for one another.

The back door swung open and a tipsy Adam stumbled out. Aaron let go of Robert’s arms and whipped his head around to look at his friend.

“Can the chosen one please return to the party, “Adam slurred with a massive smile on his face, “He needs to make a speech.”

Aaron groaned; he knew his mum would make him do something like that. Embarrass himself in front of everyone.

Robert grabbed his hand from where it was resting on the wall, “Come on, _chosen one_.” He teased, “You have an audience waiting.”

He hung his head in feigned denial and leaned on Robert’s shoulder, shaking his head.

“Come on.” Robert persuaded standing up and pulling Aaron with him, “You’re going to be brilliant.”

Aaron looked up and intertwined his hands further with Robert’s, who was beaming down at him.

“Fine!” he relented, pushing himself back towards the pub.

He felt Robert’s thumb grazing over his own as he stepped inside, the noisy building. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!! 
> 
> of course if you have the time, kudos or comments would be very much appreciated :)


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